Saturday, December 18, 2010

Well, Technically It Wasn't Congress, It Was the Federal Reserve

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Just when you think the war on Christmas couldn't get any more bizarre there is this story from Perkins, Okla. about a bank, Payne County Bank, that was told Federal Regulations banned any Christmas decorations. According to KCCO when the regulators from Kansas City showed up for their 4 year examination to insure the bank in Perkins was in compliance with Federal regulations they declared any mention of Christmas to be in violation of those regulations, in particular, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

"Specifically, the feds believed, the symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. According to the clause, "...the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication ... express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion."The feds interpret that to mean, for example, a Jew or Muslim or atheist may be offended and believe they may be discriminated against at this bank. It is an appearance of discrimination."

The bank quickly contacted 2 of their repsresentatives in the US Congress, Rep. Frank Lucas & Sen. Jim Inhofe They also contacted the Oklahoma Bankers Association for help. It didn't take Lucas & Inhofe long to respond. On Friday (17 December 2010) they issued a joint letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about what they viewed as a “distressing interpretation of Federal Reserve Regulation B” concerning a bank in Perkins.

Inhofe said: “This is an all-out assault on the faith, values and rights of the bank, its employees and the people of Perkins they serve. It is absolutely ridiculous for the regulation to be interpreted this way, and it unduly discriminates against a person’s faith in Christ and their constitutionally protected freedom to publicly express that faith. It is simply another case of liberals in Washington overstepping their bounds and intruding in the lives of individuals. I expect the Federal Reserve to rectify this situation quickly.”

Lucas said: “The recent actions taken by the Federal Reserve at Payne County Bank are of great concern to me. I do not agree with its interpretation of Regulation B in this circumstance and believe that it infringes upon fundamental constitutional rights afforded to all Americans. I encourage the Federal Reserve to review the situation and take the appropriate action to address it.”

The Fed quickly backed down. Tom Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, responded in a statement Friday where he said the regulation does not apply to personal items displayed in the workplace. The bank was also allowed to to restore their Christian display of items & verses on television & their website until a final determination is made of what the regulation means.

While this is a temporary victory, the fact that The Fed has not made a final determination means that they could still use this regulation in the future to once again shut down any mention of Christmas. This is just the latest of many skirmishes of the war on Christmas.

We see another example here of how intolerant those who push toleration really are. It is wrong to offend Muslims or jews but it is OK to offend Christians. Why aren't they being told to be tolerent as well? Why is it OK to be intolerant against Christianity.

The big joke is that the same government that says banks can't say anything about Christmas says Christmas is a Federal holiday. it also issues postage stamps for Eid, Kwanzaa & Hanukkah as well as Christmas. I am not offended if a Muslim or Jew wants to express something about their faith, so why should the same courtesy not be extended to Christians in expressing their faith? Isn't that what the 1st Amendment is about, free expression of your faith as well as free speech which also includes speaking about your faith?

This is also a reminder of why we should be concerned when Obama & Hilary Clinton talk about freedom to worship in place of freedom of religion. Freedom to worship means keeping it private & not allowing free expression as the Constitution guarentees.

This is also just 1 more reason for us to get rid of the Federal Reserve.

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About Me

Sono Italiano-americano. I am a member of St Joseph the Worker Roman Catholic Church. I am an advisor to Alpha Phi Omega & College Republicans at Loras College. I am a member of the Dubuque Co. Republican Central Committee. I have been involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement since 1974. For me the overriding issue of the day is defending the preborn & upholding their right to life. If we don't value life before birth, we devalue it after birth. Life is a gift from God. This is why I am a supporter of the work that Dubuque County Right to Life does in my area. & that is why I am politically active. Our nation's laws need to be changed to protect all from conception to natural death.